Steven Otto, Economist, ISO New England
Find virtual access details below*
Note: this talk will now be REMOTE, rather than in-person, due to travel disruptions.
Abstract:
ISO New England is an independent, non-profit organization that administers New England’s various energy markets. Each year, New England spends billions of dollars in its Forward Capacity Market to ensure that the region has enough capacity to meet the system's energy needs three years in the future. The Forward Capacity Auction is an extremely complex optimization problem, and currently includes many assumptions appropriate for a resource mix that is comprised primarily of oil, coal, and natural gas power plants. As the region builds more and more intermittent (wind and solar) resources, these assumptions are no longer appropriate. This talk will introduce ISO New England and describe its role in New England's energy markets and the clean energy transition. The talk will then describe current issues with how resources are compensated in the Forward Capacity Market and discuss potential reforms.
Speaker Bio:
Steven Otto is an economist in Market Development at ISO New England. Steven started at ISO New England in 2018 after completing his Ph.D. in Applied Economics at Cornell University, where he specialized in auction theory and behavioral economics. At the ISO, Steven has worked on projects in the energy and capacity markets, including the incorporation of opportunity costs into energy market offers, new day-ahead ancillary service products, consideration of potential pathways to a future grid, and resource capacity accreditation reforms.
*Note: This talk will be presented remotely via Zoom and on the Energy Institute's YouTube channel. If using Zoom, viewers must register for an account with Zoom and log in to Zoom using that registration in order to use the meeting link and participate. Faculty, students and staff of UT, please use your personal UT Zoom account.
Zoom Link: https://utexas.zoom.us/s/96867307180
To view the talk on YouTube, there are two options:
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Click: https://www.youtube.com/user/utenergyinstitute/ to take you to the HOME page of the Energy Institute’s YouTube page.
The Webinar will be listed as a video thumbnail with the word “LIVE NOW” in the window. Click on that thumbnail.